"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"
My voice boomed through the room, magic lacing the words with enough force to make the windows rattle. "I've had it with this nonsense!"
The Red Empress froze mid-lunge, her fingers still crackling with unstable magic. Luna, still perched behind you, paused mid-raspberry—but left her tongue sticking out, just to be extra defiant.
The Empress's eye twitched. "You—YOU—" She jabbed a finger at Luna, her voice trembling with barely contained fury. "Damn it all, I will turn you into—"
"NOBODY IS TURNING ANYONE INTO ANYTHING!" you snapped, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Empress quit it with the theatrics already. Luna, enough of your games—you've punished her more than enough."
Luna finally retracted her tongue—slowly—but her smirk said she'd already won. "…Fine. But only 'cause you said so, brother."
The Empress inhaled sharply, her glare shifting to you now. "Oh, so she listens to you? Of course she does—"
